ARC Book Review: Forbidden – Kimberley Griffiths Little

A sweeping, epic saga of romance and hardship, set against the dramatic backdrop of ancient Mesopotamia – for fans of Cleopatra’s Moon or the adult bestseller The Red Tent
In the unforgiving Mesopotamian desert where Jayden’s tribe lives, betrothal celebrations abound, and tonight it is Jayden’s turn to be honored. But while this union with Horeb, the son of her tribe’s leader, will bring a life of riches and restore her family’s position within the tribe, it will come at the price of Jayden’s heart.
Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden’s heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb’s increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden’s every move, she knows she must find a way to escape — or die trying.
With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family’s survival on the line, Jayden must embark on a deadly journey to save the ones she loves — and find a true love for herself.
Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together.

First Sentence: Tonight was the night of my betrothal ceremony.My Review:

I haven’t heard much about Forbidden when I first won it. All I knew about the book was it was a book with diversity and the cover was pretty. I planned to read Forbidden sometime eventually, but then life sadly got in the way. Flash forward about two months later and a couple of my friends urged me to read Forbidden so they could see if they should read it or not based off my review and rating. My recommendation? You’re honestly, not missing out on anything much except for the diversity aspect if you don’t read Forbidden.

I really enjoyed the diversity in Forbidden. I love reading about Jayden’s unique culture and other cultures during that time, which are so different from today’s. I especially love the dancing aspect and the jewelry aspect of Jayden’s culture, but I definitely do not like the arranged marriage aspect. I also love that Forbidden is set in the Mesopotamian era which makes it one of the most unique young adult books I’ve ever read; it is definitely preparing me for the history class I have to take next semester.

“Remember, Jayden, you’ll get your womanly jewelry tonight,” Leila said softly, as through trying to make amends.
I smiled despite my frustration. “I hope so. That’s the only good thing about tonight’s ceremony.” (ARC 12)

While I really enjoyed reading about the diversity in Forbidden, I had a real problem with the romance. To be it quite bluntly, I didn’t like it at all. As you guys can hopefully tell from both the title of the book and its summary, Forbidden is about, well, a forbidden romance. Here’s the thing: I certainly don’t like Horeb, the guy Jayden is betrothed to, at all (not like I’m supposed to like him), but I certainly don’t feel Jayden and Kadesh’s romance. Jayden and Kadesh’s relationship started off unique, but their quick chemistry quickly fizzed out and never reappeared ever again. It was definitely hard to ship that ship. I also sadly didn’t care for Kadesh – he was just a character in the book that felt like a wooden clay doll and was just there. Not the best recommendation for a guy right?

Forbidden also sadly drew some strong emotions from me only once. Many terrible things happen to Jayden throughout the book – she went through a major loss, was the only one to keep everything together, and was beyond terrified several times throughout the book (I would be beyond terrified too if I was put in her position) – but I felt no strong emotions until one part near the end of the book. Besides that, I couldn’t help but be distracted while I was reading because Forbidden just didn’t capture my complete and full attention.

“What if,” I added softly, looking up at her through my long hair, “I feel nothing for him? What if our friendship has turned to dislike? Leila, I fear him, and I fear that I’m starting to dislike him more than anyone else I’ve ever known.” (ARC 133)

Aside from Forbidden‘s unique diversity aspect, Forbidden is sadly nothing special. The writing is nothing special and there was nothing else I could think of that could convince me to give it a higher rating, which makes me sad. Forbidden even ends with a kind-of cliffhanger (although I can already predict what will happen and there’s a 94% chance that I’ll probably be right) and the sad thing is, I don’t and won’t care if I ever would read the sequel. It’s just nothing really stands out.

Though the premise sounds super intriguing, there are just so many mixed reviews of this book that I just can’t see myself picking it up in the near future. Characters, for me, are everything in a book (especially the sexy male ones) and since you basically described Jayden’s love interest as a dull stick, I think I’ll steer clear.Laquesha @BookLover2.0 recently posted…Hello November!: Changes, New Schedule, WHAT?!

This is quite sad…the first time i saw the cover and the title and the blurb..i thought it sound very promising coz the setting and period is unique but then you said the pairing is not that compelling…and i’m such a hopeless romantic that i want to at least feel invested with the characters. I might still pick this up on a later time but not on my immediate list to read. thank you for your review.

I’m sad that Forbidden seems like nothing special too. I keep hearing about this book almost everywhere in the blogosphere, but so far it seems no one really loves this book and story held within it. I’m thinking that if it isn’t that great, I’m sure as heck not going to love it either. And I really don’t need to read something to pass the time right now. I have way too much on my TBR pile to even consider reading something that will take precious time away. I’m still glad I read your review though. It painted a pretty good picture of what I can expect from this book.

I want to read this one though I’ve seen pretty bleh reviews. It won’t be high on my priority list though. I’m sad this one was just meh and didn’t have anything that really made the story stand out.Kristen@My Friends Are Fiction recently posted…Review of Made for You by Melissa Marr

I totally agree with you! The setting and the diversity were the stars of this book. The romance? Not so much. I expected so much more from the romance because of the title and it didn’t deliver. :/Megan @ Reading Books Like a Boss recently posted…Spotlight & Giveaway â Caged in Winter by Brighton Walsh

The book didn’t really catch my attention. The setting isn’t really one of my favorites, and it’s sad to hear that the romance wasn’t well developed. I like books when you can connect to the characters.

I am super intrigued by the historical fiction aspect of this, especially set in Mesopotamia but I agree with you on the romance aspect. When it’s as big of an arc in the story line as it seems to be here it really needs to be strong. If it falls flat there’s not much that’s going to keep people’s attention.

I was intrigued when I saw the cover and learned of the setting, but you aren’t the only person who was not into the romance and said it dragged. I was so happy about the diversity, but it’s just too bad that the book itself wasn’t what everyone wanted from it. I’m glad I know that I shouldn’t spend time on it, but my heart is a little sad.

It’s always sad when a book doesn’t quite deliver. On the other hand, at least it has diversity, which is always a positive thing (when well done, of course). Hopefully the following books will be better. It has been known to happen :)Teresa Santos recently posted…The Blood of Olympus, by Rick Riordan

i have read this book and we have the exact thoughts about it (well, almost the same). I did enjoy the diversity but like you said, it was nothing special. Thanks for the honest review.Kyla @ Carmel & Kyla recently posted…Review: Famous Last Words by Katie Alender

The culture sounds cool, but since so much of the story is about the romance if that doesn’t work, neither does the book. Terrible things happen too? Yeah, no thanks. I was attracted to the pretty cover, but I don’t think this one’s for me. Thanks for saving me.Molly Mortensen recently posted…Top Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait To Get

When I first read the summary for this one, it sounded pretty interesting and something I would enjoy. But then some of my friends read it and I have read some not so enthusiastic reviews and now I’m kinda torn should I even start it.
Also, I hate when book ends with cliffhanger and you can actually with certainty guess what will already happen in next one. Booo!
Great review!

How disappointing. I was looking forward to a book with a unique setting but I guess this one isn’t anything special especially since all of the reviews I’ve seen for this book have said similar things.Kelly @ Dancing Through the Pages recently posted…Life of a Blogger: 10 Things I’ll Never Do

This seems like such a steamy read! Well, with a title like Forbidden, what else can you expect? ;) When I first read about this book, I was interested in it, but it doesn’t seem like the kind of book for me :( I’m not for steamy, maybe it doesn’t have steam in it? It seems like it does. I’ve heard some good things about this book and also some bad. At least it has diversity in it? Well, it seems I won’t be picking up this book anytime soon, especially since life gets in the way of my reading and I have such a long TBR list -.- Thanks for the review though :)

I preordered this book but it never came. This was a great honest review. i’m still pretty curious so i’m going to find my preorder. I havent seen this setting very much either. Thank!
~Brittany TBrittany T recently posted…Waiting On Wednesday

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Effortlessly Reading sometimes receives ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) from publishers or authors in exchange for honest reviews. Please note that no compensation of any kind has been provided in exchange for a review. Any use and/or duplication of my material without any permission is strictly prohibited.